The victims are piling up in a widespread credit and debit card scam in Northern Colorado.The problem is that police admit they don't know how it's being done."It's very unusual. We've never seen anything like this," said Sgt. Mike Halloran with Loveland police.
For 10 days, the problem has been fraudulent use of credit and debit cards, which 7NEWS reporter Lance Hernandez first explained Monday."(We took) around 150 calls the following day. And then with the reports that went out yesterday we received another 60 more phone calls today. So we're approaching 600," Halloran said.Friday, several people called Loveland police about a possible phishing scam, which is a phone call to a home where the caller claims to be with your bank and asks for account information.Jan Vassar was ripped off from a distance, with her debit card going on a spending spree with someone else."It was used at a Walmart in Alabama," Vassar said. "I didn't get the name of the city, but at the same Walmart several times over. You know, the difficult thing is that particular day I was paying my mortgage and I had to take money out of my savings because my bank account went negative."She called Longmont police, who have taken 20 to 25 calls regarding stolen credit or debit card numbers in the past two weeks, a spokesman told 7NEWS."What are you going to do? I don't know. You can be cautious but you can't be paranoid about it," Vassar said.Halloran said the fraudulent use of the cards has happened outside the Rocky Mountain region, with charges showing up in the eastern U.S., England, South Africa and Canada.Purchases have been made online and in person, implying someone is printing new, physical cards with account numbers.Weld County, Larimer County, Johnstown and Windsor have all seen increases in phishing.Next week, law enforcement groups in Northern Colorado will meet to discuss strategy in what is proving to be a very difficult case to crack, Halloran said.
October 18, 2011: Thief 'Skims' Debit/Credit Card Info From 100 Victims
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